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Kitchen Stewardship

Balancing God's Gifts…One Baby Step at a Time

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A Fat Full Fall: Dairy fats – What’s the Moo?

October 13th, 2009 · 29 Comments · Fat Full Fall, Science of Nutrition, What to Buy

milk in a storeAh, the French know their fats.  When my husband worked with a Frenchman, he reminisced about this time of year in France:  “Fall is the best time of year because the food is so wonderful: the fish are fatter, the cream is plentiful, and the vegetables being harvested are some of my favorites.” Yep, he wanted more fat in his fish!

We’ve been talking about good fats and bad fats and how to find them, but milk is one area where we Americans simply cut the fat.

If you’ve read any good historical fiction from the era of the 1800s or so, you might have come across stories of mothers who used to sell the cream from their family cow’s milk.  Their children were always the sickly ones because they were stuck with skim milk while the family’s pocketbook grew fatter because of the premium people were willing to pay for the cream.  In most places, skim milk was fed to the pigs.  This was simply common knowledge – skim milk was a byproduct.

When we started getting our milk from a farm, it brought up a lot of interesting conversation with my relatives…with and without my presence!  (Ever heard the phrase “My ears were burning?”)  My grandpa warned us that when the cows went out on pasture, they could get into garlic or something and make the milk taste awful.  (This is true.)  My in-laws worried that we’d get sick and wondered, “Why not just buy it at the store?”  (This is not a big concern, and a post for another day.)

milk-jars

My dad, who is old enough that he rode on the back of a milk truck as a young boy, reminisced about working out on his uncle’s farm.  He remembers separating the cream from the milk using a machine and taking it to other folks who then made butter with it.  I had to ask him what they did with the skim milk.  Without missing a beat, he said that skim milk was fed to the pigs. It was a matter of course.  Nobody wanted the skim milk for their families.

And now?  We often pay a premium for low-fat and fat-free novelties.  Hmph.

The Issue with Dairy Fat

It’s saturated, mostly.

Since saturated fat is often linked to heart disease, that means dairy fats are out of fashion for the same reason butter and red meat are on the chopping block (or off of it, for health’s sake).

My Issues with Low-Fat Dairy
  • Missing fat-soluble vitamins – they go out with the fat
  • Saturated fats are good for you – read more at the previous post
  • Powdered milk/Oxidized cholesterol – read on!

(Want to read about my family’s experience switching to full fat dairy?  Read the Monday Mission from this week:  Consider Full Fat Dairy.)

Reduced fat and skim milk has powdered nonfat milk (dry milk) added to it. If you’re running to your fridge to check the label, you won’t find anything to back me up.  It’s an “industry standard”, so it’s not required to be listed.  I know this makes me sound like I’m blowing hot air, but besides many reputable sources telling me this, I believe it because I’ve done it myself.

UPDATE: Boo hiss to old sources. I have emails from two milk companies and a professor at Michigan State assuring me that powdered milk is no longer added to skim or low-fat milk. It used to be industry standard, but hasn’t been for decades.  No reason to fear low-fat milk, except that it’s not a healthy food, or at least not as healthy at full-fat milk.

When I used to make skim milk homemade yogurt, I always added nonfat dry milk to the mix, both to add protein and thicken it up.  This is what I was taught by the health books I was reading at the time.  The yogurt really did need this thickener.  It’s not a big leap for me to believe that skim milk needs a little boost as well.

What’s Wrong with Powdered Milk?

“When they remove the fat to make reduced fat milks, they replace the fat with powdered milk concentrate, which is formed by high temperature spray drying. All reduced-fat milks have dried skim milk added to give them body, although this ingredient is not usually on the labels. The result is a very high-protein, lowfat product. Because the body uses up many nutrients to assimilate protein—especially the nutrients contained in animal fat—such doctored milk can quickly lead to nutrient deficiencies.”

And…

“A note on the production of skim milk powder: liquid milk is forced through a tiny hole at high pressure, and then blown out into the air. This causes a lot of nitrates to form and the cholesterol in the milk is oxidized.  …You do not want to eat oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, to atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk thinking that it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease.”

(My note:  nitrates are pegged as carcinogens, cancer-causing agents.)

Source:  Weston A. Price Foundation

Oxidized Cholesterol and Heart Disease

milk-jar-2

Someone asked me once after I explained all this if skim milk would be exempt.  Because it has no fat, how can it have cholesterol?  I found my answer:

Ed Blonz of Chicago’s Daily Herald confirms that

  1. Powdered milk does contain oxidized cholesterol
  2. Skim milk also contains cholesterol, even though it doesn’t have any fat
  3. Skim and low-fat milks have powdered milk added to them
  4. Oxidized cholesterol is dangerous to your health

He also claims that the small amounts of oxidized cholesterol in skim milk should not have much of an impact on your health.

UPDATE:  Do see the comments for some contradiction and confirmation from an academic, farm-raised reader.

This 2003 study shows that oxidized cholesterol is real, a concern for heart disease and perhaps cancer, that it is formed in processed dairy powder, and that a small amount of it is in your supermarket milk.  The authors recommend eating lots of antioxidants to combat this.  (My interpretation:  “Drink milk, but eat blueberries too.”)

Wiki also says that powdered milk contains oxidized cholesterol and that the free radicals may cause arterial plaque.

How Worried Should we be About Oxidized Cholesterol?

apples 2We probably (definitely?) consume oxidized foods all the time, unfortunately.  I recently learned that when foods turn brown (picture a cut apple or banana), it is a sign of oxidation.  Charred, grilled meat has a big problem with oxidation, as would the nice toast I just ate with raw honey on top.  Anytime damaged cells come in contact with air, oxidation happens.  (That’s why I cut my lettuce with a special lettuce knife.)  When we eat cooked foods, chances are we’re consuming some oxidized free radicals.

So is the oxidized cholesterol in milk something to be concerned about?  As usual, I’m going to buck the system and play the “better safe than sorry” card while sharing all the information with you.  This way you, too, can stand in front of the milk at the store and think:  “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!  I don’t know what to do!!!!!!” make an informed decision.

An Unfortunate Hazard of Dairy: Homogenization

“Milk straight from the cow contains cream, which rises to the top. Homogenization is a process that breaks up the fat globules and evenly distributes them throughout the milk so that they do not rise. This process unnaturally increases the surface area of fat exposing it to air, in which oxidation occurs and increases the susceptibility to spoilage. Homogenization has been linked to heart disease and atherosclerosis.”

Source:  Weston A. Price Foundation

Some say that homogenization is one of the top three causes of heart disease, which is a big deal for me because that little evil runs in my husband’s family in a big way.  I could buy a milk (Moo-ville brand – what a great name!) that is unhomogenized for about $4 a gallon to make my homemade yogurt.  Other than the homogenization gig, though, it doesn’t have a lot of other benefits over conventional milk for $1.99 (it’s not organic, still at least partly grain-fed).  I struggle with paying double.

I already pay double for so many other things, from eggs and our raw milk for drinking to organic lettuce.  Most weeks, I just grab a gallon of store-brand milk and offer up the homogenization with a prayer for my husband’s health and safety. We love our yogurt, and I am banking on the hope that the benefits of the probiotics and the lack of powdered milk at least balance out the evils of homogenization.  If I was a yogurt purchaser, Stonyfield Farms has a yogurt with a creamline.  This is probably a nice, safe choice for probiotics and dairy!

UPDATE:  I have a new method for my yogurt-making milk.  See all the updates here.

BIG UPDATE:  That email I mentioned above from the MSU professor also addresses homogenization.  Again, there is little to fear: homogenization happens without allowing the fat globules to touch air.  Within 10-20 seconds, a new protective membrane forms around the fat globules.  There should be no oxidation fears with homogenized milk, either.

Why I don’t go for Organic Milk

horizon organic milkMost organic milk (if it travels cross country or is in a cardboard container) is “ultra-high-temperature pasteurized (UHT)”, which means it’s been heated to 200 degrees instead of down somewhere around 150 for regular pasteurization.  It could sit on your pantry shelf.  Not only does that diminish the nutrients and make the food truly a “dead” one, but that’s just too much for me.  Milk on a shelf.  No, thank you.  That’s definitely NOT natural!  Photo from bexa

An Apology and Two Reassurances

Powdered milk, oxidized cholesterol, homogenization, UHT shelf-stable milk...so much you didn’t know you didn’t want to know!

*Sigh*

I’m so sorry to do this to you.  The more I learn, the more I wish I was ignorant…but I don’t want to be cancer-ridden, either!

  1. For those of you “in the know” already, I know there is much more to say on the subject of milk.  I’m just talking fat here, after all:  It’s a Fat Full Fall.  I can talk about pasteurization, enzymes, cultured dairy, hormones, and what cows eat later.
  2. For those of you for whom this information is all new and you’re thinking, “Now what do I do with the gallon of skim milk in my fridge!?!” or “What will I buy on the next shopping trip???” don’t despair.  You’re alive and healthy today, and you will be tomorrow, unless the Lord has other plans for you.  Say your nighttime prayers.  Say your morning prayers.  Say your “What milk do I buy??” prayers.  And then accept Baby Steps, pat yourself on the back for learning something new and being willing to make a change so that you’re a little healthier than you were yesterday.  And always trust that God will take care of you, body and soul.  Soul first.

If you need some food to make you feel better, try these pumpkin muffins (with healthier upgrades) and find a great breakdown of foods that WILL keep you healthy and HOW they do it– and that you probably have in your kitchen!

I’d love to see more of you!  Sign up for an email subscription or grab my reader feed.

If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

I’m always pleased to participate in Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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Hungry for more? Related posts:

  1. Monday Mission: Consider Full Fat Dairy
  2. A Fat Full Fall: Introduction
  3. A Fat Full Fall: Baseline Fats Chart
  4. Food for Thought: The Evils (?) of Saturated Fats
  5. Monday Mission: Release Your Fear of Fats

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29 Comments so far ↓

  • April

    If you live in the midwest and have access to a HyVee, we love their store brand organic milk! It is actually from Kalona Organics (http://www.kalonaorganics.com/our_milk.html), but sold under the HyVee label. It is organic, NOT homogenized, and it is VAT pasteurized, which means it is pasteurized at the lowest allowable temperature. (The website says it is half the temp of UHT pasteurization, and 30 degrees lower than regular pasteurization.) I don’t have a HyVee receipt near me, so I can’t remember the exact price, but I want to say it is actually a little less than the other organic milks they sell. We have not yet made the switch to raw milk (partly because of budget, partly because we’re afraid of it going bad before we use it all), but this is the closest thing we can get to raw milk at the store. I’m not that good at remembering to shake it up to distribute the cream, but my husband loves it because he gets little pieces of cream in his milk!

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    That sounds like the best “store” option I’ve heard of – thank you sooooo much for sharing!

    [Reply to this comment]

    K @ Prudent and Practical Reply:

    April, Thank you for this! Although I’ve bought it just a couple times, I’ve tried to veer away from HyVee brand organic because, well, it was store brand. All of their products say “Distributed by Hy-Vee Inc.” without saying WHERE it actually came from. I’m so excited to go grocery shopping tomorrow!!!
    K @ Prudent and Practical´s last blog ..Crockpot Spicy Peanut Chicken My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    K @ Prudent and Practical Reply:

    And Kalona Organics is wonderful ~ I love their sour cream!
    K @ Prudent and Practical´s last blog ..Crockpot Spicy Peanut Chicken My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    Cara Reply:

    A gallon of whole milk “cream top” is $5.99 at the Hyvee in Topeka, KS.

    [Reply to this comment]

  • tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be

    I think i’m going to make multiple posts in order to keep myself straight on this post. Too many things i want to talk about.

    first, Dr Blonz’s newspaper article…It would be a greater risk for those who don’t have a healthful diet, and also for those who are already on the road toward chronic disease. These are the reasons why I have no problem with fresh eggs but do not encourage eating dried eggs, and why it is better to grate fresh cheese than purchase commercially grated cheese that’s been sitting around for a while. Both these are higher-fat products with higher levels of cholesterol.

    The cholesterol in dried nonfat milk can become oxidized, but there is not much there to be at risk. When you “protein fortify” skim or 2 percent, the total cholesterol stays the same. Checking the U.S. Department of Agriculture database at tinyurl.com/36uag, we find that a cup of nonprotein-fortified skim milk contains 8.25 grams of protein and 5 milligrams of cholesterol. A cup of protein-fortified skim contains 9.74 grams of protein, but the same 5 milligrams of cholesterol. A cup of 2 percent milk will contain 20 milligrams of cholesterol whether it is the regular or protein-fortified version. There may be small differences with other milk types, but overall, the concern about oxidized cholesterol from protein-fortified milk is a nonissue.

    I’m certainly not advocating drinking skim milk here. bleck.

    1. note that he points out that pre grated cheese is a source of oxided chloresterol too. i’ve already asked why you used green can parm vs. the real deal. in fact, he notes that it’s a higher fat product with more chloresterol, therefore more oxided chloresterol.

    2. 5 mgs of chloresterol in either version of skim milk. Are you asserting that your conglomeration of information from the internet (where anyone can publish anything) should outweigh the professional opinion of a PhD in nutrition science?

    This is my favorite organic milk article: “Organic milk: Are the benefits worth the cost? Price can be twice as much, but research doesn’t show added advantage”
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14458802
    tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: Patents are confusing. Whoa. My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Tonya,

    My sources aren’t all Internet sources, by the way. The quotes from the WAPF are often verbatim from the book Nourishing Traditions, and notice that I do point out that the amount of ox. chol. in skim milk is not very much. You make a great point about the cheese…
    Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be

    on homogenization:

    Does homogenization affect the human health properties of cow’s milk? – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VHY-4JKHP78-1-F&_cdi=6079&_user=500342&_orig=browse&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2006&_sk=999829991&view=c&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkWb&_valck=1&md5=3dd63a4154e66c80d1745c4dbf2d2fe4&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

    The
    amount of absorbed cholesterol via dairy products consumed
    daily only represents 15% of the daily recommended
    cholesterol intake and the beneficial role of milk fat has
    been highlighted in an in-depth review by Berner (1993b).

    In
    a careful review, Tholstrup (2006) concludes that there is no
    strong evidence that dairy products (i.e. including homogenized
    milk) increase the risk of coronary heart disease in
    healthy men of all ages or young and middle-aged healthy
    women.

    & here’s Tholstrup 2006 – http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/2/169

    [Reply to this comment]

  • tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be

    one more ( a nice 2008 review article, so combines a lot of the current scientific articles into one): Effects of Dairy Fats within Different Foods on Plasma Lipids

    http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/27/6/735S

    PS: if you can’t access any of these, Katie, & would like to, let me know & I will send you a pdf. I have access via work.
    tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: Patents are confusing. Whoa. My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Phew! Tonya, girl, you’re keeping me hopping! I wish I had time to read all this info, but I guess if I’m going to post on research, I’d better make sure I’m accurate. I would like to see the last article, and I couldn’t get access.

    Does the research review of Tholstrup 2006 also mean that drinking whole milk vs. skim milk doesn’t increase your risk of heart disease? That alone is ground-breaking, because the docs are always telling people to get to skim and low-fat dairy for their heart health.

    I like that you show some evidence that organic milk isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And thank you, too, for saying that you don’t advocate drinking skim milk!

    Bottom line on oxidized cholesterol in skim milk, according to your research then, is that it’s negligible (but present) at best? Is there more danger then (as far as ox. chol. goes) to drinking 1 and 2% milk?

    You’re getting me on the Parmesan. That’s my personal Monday Mission now – buy real Parm. Sigh. One more thing to do, but I’m already shredding (almost 100%) my own regular cheese, so I might as well do the Parm too! I’ll still use what I have though – the little bit can’t kill us (hopefully).

    Thanks for all your challenges! You’re writing a guest post for me someday, girl. :)
    Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Jessie

    Also on the Westin Price website is an article by Mary Enig in which she explains at length that the theory of homogenization causing heart disease is disproven. http://www.realmilk.com/homogenization.html

    She goes into a lot more detail than the article that you linked to.

    That being said, Mary Enig is not in favor of homogenization, but doesn’t really go into why.

    I just made yogurt with non-homogenized milk from grass fed cows & it came out much thicker than yogurt I made with homogenized milk. So I will continue doing that.

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Local Nourishment

    I’m not up on all the science, I’m still working on a lot of it. But I know three things for certain. 1) Hubby is lactose intolerant, unless the milk is raw, whole milk from Jersey cows. 2) Daughter is allergic to dairy, unless the milk is raw, whole milk from Jersey cows. 3) Raw, whole milk tastes a WHOLE lot better than the alternatives.

    That’s enough reason for me, science or no!
    Local Nourishment´s last blog ..What’s Cooking? Community Supported Kitchens My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be
    Reply:

    I doubt your husband & daughter are truly, clinically lactose intolerant.

    All milk has lactose or it wouldn’t be milk. I don’t think there’s any significant difference in lactose between a jersey cow vs. any other breed or grassfed vs. any other diet. I’ll look up the data for you.
    tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: Went to bed way early last night. Whoa. My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Kelly the Kitchen Kop

    The main reason I’m “against” homogenization is because it’s so unnatural – in nature the cream rises to the top of the milk. In homogenization, it’s shaken with SUCH force, and so denatured, that the cream stays all mixed in with the rest of the milk.
    Kelly the Kitchen Kop´s last blog ..10-Day “Detox”, Healthy Fats, Crazy Passions, and my friend, Megan My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Sugar Mommy

    So, I still don’t know what to buy!

    In a nutshell, please tell me what to buy. My accessible stores are Kroger, Albertsons, HEB/Central Market, Wal-Mart, and Target.

    Thanks!

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Sugar Mommy,
    Here’s the best I can offer you:
    When you buy dairy products (cheese, sour cream, etc) only buy the real thing, no low-fat or fat-free.
    Milk is trickier.
    In my opinion, your best bet is an unhomogenized whole milk, but sometimes that is cost-prohibitive. I don’t know what your stores carry, so you’ll have to look into it yourself. Is HEB a health foods store? Start there if it is. April’s comment above about the organic, low-temp pasteurized milk is an example of the “perfect” store choice for milk, but hard to find. If your only choices are regular old milk, some families choose to drink no milk. For cooking and yogurt, I think the next thing I’m going to try is a mixture of skim milk and cream found here: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2009/10/raw-milk-substitute.html

    I wish there was an easy answer, but there’s not really one other than to go straight to the cow!

    I hope this breakdown helped clear things up a little bit – thank you for the question!
    Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home

    Phew! There’s a whole lot of info here. I need to look into some of those links above in the comments. Definitely need to learn more about the oxidized cholesterol. I’m lucky, though, that in Canada it doesn’t seem to be the same standardized thing to put milk powder into skim milk (which I only buy for making yogurt, and then I add cream to make it full fat- I’m all about full-fat dairy!).

    After putting up my post about skim milk and cream, how incredibly stoked was I to discover that I can purchase un-homogenized, organic (non UHT) milk from a local dairy for about the same price as organic milk in the regular stores??? I’m so excited! Whohoo! That seems to be the best option I’ve found yet (aside from the $$$ raw milk we buy for drinking).

    Milk is such a difficult issue, isn’t it? I’m so thankful for all the discussion we’ve got going about it. It doesn’t necessarily clear up all the issues right away, but it’s good to get the issues out there and talk through them and sort out what are the best options for working with what’s available to us.

    You’re right, Katie, that ultimately we leave it up to the Lord and trust Him with our health. Thanks, girl!
    Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home´s last blog ..2 Year Blogiversary Celebration: What’s New and a Giveaway! My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Stephanie,
    That sounds like the perfect option; I wish I could bump into something like that in my stores! I’m really glad you posted the skim milk/cream recipe though, even though you won’t need it. I do! I’ve not seen something like that but love the idea. Compromise is alright with me.

    Milk IS a difficult issue – some people just don’t drink it, and I understand that, too!
    Thanks for popping over!
    Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Rachel R.

    I read such a cool quote about raw milk the other day! But I can’t remember where. Probably in The Good Fat Cookbook. Anyway, the author points out how many people get sick every year in the U.S. from WATER – and how rare it is to get sick from raw milk, by comparison. That was a point I’d never considered (and we drink raw milk).

    One option I considered, before we had access to raw milk, was to purchase organic skim milk and organic cream and mix them. It would still be pasteurized, but that would get around the homogenization, for the most part. My husband and I worked out the percentages necessary to approximate whole milk; let me see if I can find them.
    Rachel R.´s last blog ..Quotable – housework My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Rachel,
    I just read about that on Keeper of the Home’s blog and used it today for yogurt – it’s 3.5 cups skim milk and 5 Tbs cream. I found that organic, store-brand skim milk plus a point of non-organic cream would be more than another share of raw milk thought! I went with non-organic. Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • jane

    I just found your site and am reading up on the fat full fall now.

    wow… this is the first time I’m really delving into all of this and it’s a little disturbing! So a few questions:
    -for families who don’t drink milk, what do you give your kids instead? Our 7 year old currently drinks milk with each of her meals and it’s seemed like a good way to get some protein and calcium into her… what do you substitute?
    -our 3 year old is diagnosed as lactose intolerant (though I suspect it’s something different as he also can’t tolerate yogurt or anything) so he drinks soy, which also seems like not a super natural substitute.
    -our 6 month old is still all on mama’s milk and will remain on that for as long as we can! But I can’t make enough for the whole fam ;-)

    Thanks for any ideas!

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Jane,
    Thanks for joining us! :)

    You ask great (and difficult) questions…
    1. I wouldn’t use soy milk – never milked a bean, so I don’t trust it! ;) Soy is pretty controversial right now, so I’d rather stay away from it, plus it’s a new phenomenon to have so MUCH of it in our diets. If the soy is for protein, there are other more traditional sources. If it’s just to have something to put on his cereal, you’d have to get creative or have alternate breakfasts to avoid the soy, if you decide it’s no good.
    2. I know folks who just choose not to drink milk – they get their calcium either from other dairy sources or things like homemade bone broth, certain vegetables, etc. Protein from natural sources like meat and beans. Try this link for foods with certain minerals: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/13/super-foods-break-down-part-one-whats-in-there/ For beverages, just serve water, or there are alternative beverages in the “real food” world that I haven’t really delved into. I’ve tried water kefir, which is interesting: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/15/is-water-kefir-as-good-as-soda-pop/
    3. Some people who cannot tolerate store milk can handle “raw” or “fresh” milk, which means it’s not pasteurized and the enzymes that can help the baby calf (and you) digest it are still present (they are killed in the pasteurization process).
    4. Love the comment on mama’s milk! Good for you!

    Remember – you don’t have to make a zillion changes at once. Say a prayer about it, prioritize and do one thing at a time. There’s always more to learn! :) Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

  • Psychic Lunch

    Here’s something I came across in regards to oxidized milk:

    “Mixing of oxidized milk from one farm with non-oxidized milk from other farms in the same bulk truck can result in the oxidation of the whole load of milk.”

    This is from Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/dairy/cda20s02.html

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    PL,
    Another bummer in the food world. I’m glad most of my milk comes straight from the farm! :) Thanks for the info –
    Katie

    [Reply to this comment]

    tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be
    Reply:

    From the link above:
    •Milk is usually not oxidized when first taken from the cow; however, an oxidized flavour can develop within 24 hours during refrigerated storage under conditions which promote the oxidation reaction. In some instances, it may take from 48 to 72 hours to develop following milking.

    This means oxidation starts on the farm, in the bulk tank, while the milk is still raw, or depending on the timeline, if you are getting your milk straight from the farm, in your own fridge even. It looks like propentency for oxidation comes from cow diet, enviroment the milk is stored in & cow genetics.

    •Oxidized milk poses no health risks; however, it presents significant risk to retail sales. Consumer rejection of off-flavoured dairy products can result in temporary to permanent loss of sales to dairy competitors.

    i am not aware of this being a problem in the US.

    [Reply to this comment]

    Katie Reply:

    Maybe oxidation was our problem with our summer milk. We had some “off” issues! ???

    [Reply to this comment]

    tonya
    Twitter: rcwant2be
    Reply:

    could be, but i’d guess it was probably dietary. if your cow munched a weed(s) in their pasture…or even onion tops.

    in college we had to taste “off” milk in our animal products class. one of the “off” flavors was onion & another was garlic. ick. not so good.
    tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: someone in northern michigan should tweet #snowmobile #trail #conditions My ComLuv Profile

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